The Padres got their first victory of the season Thursday on runs from players batting in Chase Headley’s spot and an RBI from the kid filling in at his position.

Still, the second-best third baseman in Citi Field for the season-opening series between loomed large because he didn’t play.

“It’s fun to play against that type of player,” the Mets’ David Wright, probably the best in the game at his position, said before the Padres won 2-1 in the series finale. “From a third base standpoint, I was disappointed. From a team standpoint, I wasn’t disappointed.”

The Padres were able to salvage a game because starting pitcher Eric Stults is a gem they found underneath a rock, they strung together three hits in the fourth inning, including a fobule by Jedd Gyorko driving in Mark Kotsay, and Kris Denordia scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the eighth.

But our hometown nine totaled 16 hits and were outscored 20-8 in a three-game series here, and we know now what we knew before the season started.

That is, the Padres face a rough time with Headley sidelined at least the season’s first 2½ weeks with a fractured tip of his thumb.